This invention relates generally to sleep system supports, and more particularly to a universal sleep system support which is readily collapsible into a compact configuration for storage and transport and easy to assemble into a configuration adapted to support any size and type of sleep system.
In the bedding industry, sleep systems are generally categorized as being of three major classifications: conventional, floatation, or hybrid. Conventional sleep systems include stuffed or foam-filled mattresses supported on box spring assemblies, while floatation sleep systems employ fluid-filled, flexible-walled bladders. Hybrid sleep systems are basically a combination of the first two types of sleep systems, with a fluid-filled bladder supported in an assembly including a stuffed or foam-filled marginal perimeter support for the bladder.
Each of these sleep systems typically requires some sort of under-bed support, at a customer's site, to locate the sleep surface at a preferred height. Because the sleep systems come in a variety of sizes, the associated supports must be capable of supporting such various size systems. This has always presented a multiplicity of problems to the bedding industry. Specifically, it has necessitated stocking a wide variety of supports, which are generally large so as to require considerable storage space and are difficult to transport to a customer's site; or if capable of being broken down into smaller component parts, to facilitate transport and storage, are difficult to assemble by the customer at his/her site.
There have been many attempts to modify sleep system supports to make them adjustable, more readily transportable, and easier to assemble. However, typical supports in use today have been dedicated to either conventional sleep systems or floatation sleep systems. That is to say, such supports can only be used for one type of sleep system. For example, supports for conventional sleep systems in common use today include an adjustable marginal perimeter frame which can accomodate several sizes of sleep surfaces. While these frames can typically be broken down for transportation, some of their component parts are still cumbersome to handle. On the other hand, attempts to improve the transportability and ease of assembly of supports for floatation sleep systems (and hybrid sleep system which typically employ similar types of supports) include, for example, my U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,705, issued Sept. 30, 1980, and my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 712,629, filed Mar. 18, 1985 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,929. However, the patented structure does not completely solve the transportation problem, while the structure of the Patent Application is not universally adjustable to accomodate all of the various sleep system sizes.